The Crystal Warriors (24 page)

"If ever you wish to serve another prince," be said evenly, "know that a place for a man of courage can always be found in my camp."

He hesitated, then continued, "Your actions make me glad that I spared one particular prisoner. I'll see that he is sent over to you as soon as he is able."

Mark looked up, hope etched in his features.

"The offworider was stunned in yesterday's fight and unconscious when my people captured him. He's not able to fly yet, but should be ready to fight again by tomorrow."

Without another word Macha strode from the camp. As he emerged from Landrian lines, a triumphant shout rose from the Torm army, and some men surged forward.

Looking to the pistol in his hands, Allic snapped the safety into place and tossed the gun to the ground.

"I do not say this often," he said coolly to Minar, "but I'll say now that I was wrong about your son, and you."

"Enough of this," Minar said as his form dissolved into a glittering whirlpool of sparks. "Your city is threatened, your realm might still be lost. The others can be discussed later," and then he was gone.

"Break camp at once," Allic commanded. "We force march to Landra."

* * * *

"Communications officers!"

Three sorcerers and their assistants stepped forward.

"Has there been any word from Landra?"

"Since we left there has been a jamming, as you already knew,"

Damn! He should have known... except he had assumed that it was the work of Macha's men.

"Keep trying to break through it. Send messages to the Frontier armies, and another to my father."

Allic glanced at the troops around him. "Trela, you'll take command here."

A tall, silver-haired female sorcerer stepped forward. Her face was lined with fatigue, but there was an energy and deadliness about her.

"You're to force march the army back to Landra. Send advance riders to rally the militias throughout the province and have them fall in your line of march. Pass the word that supplies are to be provided to Macha's army as it passes."

"I'll leave you half of my sorcerers and half of the wall crystals to protect the army on the march. Pick the ones you want. Pina will come with me as second in command."

Again his gaze flickered over the crowd. "Stede, I want you to take the remaining sorcerers and fly escort to the wall crystals. Sarnak's people will be just waiting to pounce on you carrying such a heavy burden, so be careful."

The bulky sorcerer nodded.

"Mark, Ikawa."

The two captains stepped forward.

"Gather your people. We fly straight to Landra and hold till the reinforcements come up."

The two inwardly groaned. Both were trembling with exhaustion. But there was nothing else they could dp. Allic would continue to drive them and use them up until either the true enemy was dead, or they were dead from trying.

Both saluted and started to call for their men.

"Ikawa, come back here," Allic ordered.

Ikawa turned to face his lord.

Allic drew closer, and there was again a silence. "You were a fool," he said coldly.

"No, my lord, again I am forced to disagree. I was loyal."

Allic's lips compressed as he studied the offworlder. He had sensed more than once the doubt and fear inside this man, but that was gone.

"I'll say it twice in the same day." He hesitated. "I was wrong, and your actions were correct."

Turning, he strode into his tent.

The others gathered around Ikawa, eager to compliment him on his courage both in the charge and in the confrontation. He silenced them with a look.

"I was frightened beyond caring," Ikawa said quietly. "Now let's move. The real war is just beginning."

T
he city of Landra was no longer the realm of beauty that Allic had left. Clouds of smoke and flame almost blotted out the sight of the mined wall on the east side of the city which Sarnak's forces had taken half a dozen turnings ago. Valdez strained to see if any of the defensive towers along the wall, long since cut off, were still holding.

"High, swinging in from the left! First crystal stand clear!"

Valdez and those around him turned, protecting their eyes.

The wall crystal in front of the observation tower crackled, releasing a flash of light. The target, a lone demon, dived in an evasive move.

"Second crystal, clear!"

Another flash burst from the tower, catching the demon full in the chest. There was a puff of smoke and an explosion as flesh boiled and detonated from the heat.

A feeble cheer came up from the keep as the lone demon, trailing smoke, tumbled into the ruins of the city below.

"Down!"

Valdez and his fellow officers ducked for cover as a rain of fiery bolts snapped into the wall, shot from the enemy-controlled outer battlements. The protective shielding that encased the upper towers of the keep glowed red, pushed near overload by the concentrated blast.

"So the bastards have finally brought their own equipment up," Valdez growled, dusting himself off.

He walked over to the sorcerers commanding their main defensive battery.

"Balcha, be sure to keep those damned demons back. If one of them is carrying a red crystal and hits our shielding, we'll all be frying in the nether regions."

"I'll try, my lord, but without aerial support I can't promise anything."

"Don't try," Valdez snapped, "do it! Or I'll heave your worthless carcass over the wall and find someone who can."

"You've got a dozen sorcerers in reserve who aren't manning the heavy crystals," Balcha replied defiantly. "Just give me some air cover with them, and I can use these crystals as they were intended―for ground support and counter-strikes."

Valdez stared at the exhausted sorcerer, not sure whether a word of encouragement or of raging reprimand would be in order. Damn it, the old man was right. Without air cover the wall crystals were being wasted knocking down an occasional demon. The weapons should be employed to support the ground fighting or for an aerial counterstrike. But there simply weren't enough. Stripping the outer walls of crystals had been madness, he had tried to tell Allic that, and now they were paying the price.

In fact, at this moment he had to assume that they would lose.

"Just do it," Valdez said quietly, and turned to rejoin the unit commanders who stood waiting for orders.

"Down!"

He ducked again. There was another flash, stronger than before. The shield started to overload, crackling with the distinctive sound of cracking glass. The sorcerers working the defensive crystals were bent over with the strain, their eyes bulging, sweat standing out on their foreheads, trying to counter the blast. Some of the energy leaked through, smashing a part of the main turret.

The rock glowed hot, ripping apart with a thundering roar. Steaming fragments, some as big as a man's head, slashed across the battlement, catching Balcha with a full blast of red hot fragments. His personal shield could not block the impact. Before Valdez's horrified eyes, the old sorcerer was decapitated and fell, showering those around him with blood.

"Three more circling in low to the right!"

One of the reserve sorcerers rushed forward to replace his fallen comrade, while the defenses fired another reply.

"Signaler!"

An apprentice came to Valdez's side. The boy was trembling with terror, both of Valdez and the slaughter. He could not help but stare saucer-eyed as the decapitated body was dragged out of the rubble.

"Any word from Allic?" Valdez snapped.

"Nothing, my lord," the boy said, his voice breaking.

"From any of the other armies?"

"Every level is jammed; we can't get anything out. We've sent several messengers but the demons were upon them before they even cleared the city."

Valdez snorted and turned to look out over Landra.

The citadel was an island in a sea of fire. The entire eastern half of the town, except for the keep, was now in Sarnak's control. Fierce fighting continued in the western half across the river, and the defense was holding for the moment. Most of the refugees from the east had crossed the river for protection. He could only hope the western town would hold, for if it started to fall there would be a mad stampede to the citadel―a citadel he would have to keep locked. He pushed the thought aside, not wishing to face that horrifying possibility.

"Now, back to the rest of you." Valdez glowered, dismissing the signaler, trying to focus his thoughts on the task at hand. "This is to inform you only..."

He hesitated before continuing.

"Ander is down," he said quietly. "I'm now in command."

The various unit commanders looked at each other in consternation.

"It can't be," one gasped.

"Damn it, it's true. As far as we know, he's dead."

He didn't have time to spend on this, but he knew an explanation had to be given. "The sortie just before sunrise was led by Ander. They were hoping to hit the entry to Sarnak's tunnel and blast it shut. We lost eight of the ten sorcerers who went in. Sarnak second-guessed us."

Valdez stopped and stared at them. Damn it all, he had tried to talk Ander out of committing the precious few sorcerers they had left for an offensive action, but like his master, Ander was driven by the spirit of attack.

"Do you think there is a security leak?" Varma asked, sitting precariously on shattered rubble.

"Why in Jartan's name do you think I've called you here? We must assume that Sarnak has someone inside. If we have time, I want a truth-testing run on all your staffs."

"Bad for morale, Valdez. Especially now," Halnath, commander of the western town defense, said quietly.

Valdez stared at him. "I want it done, once we slow this next attack."

As if confirming his statement, a rumbling boom echoed from the north. The group rushed to see the destruction.

The two northern bridges connecting the eastern and western halves of the city were going down. They had been constructed with cunning, with just this possibility in mind. When certain key stones were simultaneously moved, a series of bolts shifted, collapsing the bridges. The team assigned to the bridges had done its task, and in the process plunged several hundred of Sarnak's elite troops to their deaths. The two southern bridges had been destroyed earlier in just the same manner.

"That just leaves the viaduct between the citadel and the western town," Valdez said quietly. "By all the gods, man, you must hold it open."

"With what?" Halnath snapped. "Where the hell is our illustrious lord? Where is the western army―or even the damn southern army, for that matter? Allic's been outmaneuvered―this is disaster, Valdez, plain unmitigated disaster!"

"If I didn't know you far better," Valdez replied quietly, "I'd have you arrested right here for treason."

"What can be called treason by one, is truth to another," Varma interjected. "But truth is always truth to a man of wisdom."

Valdez looked at the dwarf. The man was right, but truth so openly stated could only hurt them at the moment. He had to keep them fighting until Allic came up: that was his responsibility. What came after, he preferred not to think about.

"Do you propose that we surrender to the Accursed, instead?"

The others were silent. Sarnak had given the traditional demand of surrender; with the refusal, terms could no longer be asked for. Only complete submission would be considered, and he could imagine what would happen if an army with its blood up was set loose upon a surrendering populace.

"We still fight, then?" He looked to the others. Each in turn, including Halnath, nodded his agreement.

"There is no way that we can evacuate all the refugees into the citadel," Valdez said quietly. "Therefore the western half must hold, but you'll have to do it without fire support from this side or any reinforcements. The citadel must use what it has to defend itself. Barricade every house, Halnath―fight them street by street, house by house."

"Can't I expect any sorcerers as reinforcements?"

Valdez looked at him coldly. "No. I'm down to just a handful; I must keep them here in reserve. I drafted everyone out of the guilds, but in battle most of them are useless."

Halnath was furiously silent, although he knew that Valdez was right. But he, not Valdez, would have to go back and break the news to those on the other side of the river―news that might very well doom them.

"I understand."

"I'll try and divert two wall crystals on the south tower to pin down any attack across the water," Valdez said, knowing that he might not be able to keep the promise. "That's all I can offer."

"Down!"

Another blast rocked the tower. The stone swayed beneath them.

"Any questions?"

"Just one," Halnath said coldly. "Do you have any plan at all to get us out of this?"

"Yes," Valdez snapped. "To hold this city until relieved, or die in the attempt."

* * * *

"My lord, I've just received confirmation. Twenty or more sorcerers are approaching from the south."

Sarnak stirred from where he had been sitting in quiet meditation, while the distant rumble of battle echoed through the scorched altar room.

He gazed about the remains of the temple. No wall was now more than shoulder high, the roof had collapsed, and rubble lay everywhere. It had once been known as the Temple of the First Sighting, a shrine to Jartan located on the southward road, half a league beyond the city wall, where travelers crested the last ridgeline and first beheld the wonders of Landra. Sarnak had taken great pleasure in watching the temple's destruction. He made the ruins his command post.

Now the pure white altar vestments had been stripped away, and the altar dedicated to the memory of Horat. Congealed blood clung to the altar stone, where several of Jartan's priests had been dedicated as messengers to the god.

"O Horat, do you now know?" Sarnak whispered.

"Do you now know that still there are some who revere your memory, and plan to avenge your death? Perhaps still we can bring you back, if the offerings are rich enough. Soon I shall give to you a worthy sacrifice."

Sarnak's features turned almost wistful. There was still time to change the plan that he had formed years ago. The body of Ander had been brought in and he could see it was perfect for what he was about to do. Ander's death made the plan far easier, for it would be the perfect bait. His features hardened again. Soon the altar would greet yet more. With luck even Jartan's son would lie here.

"Who are they?" Sarnak asked his communications commander.

"We believe Allic is with them. The presence we've detected could only be a demigod in his wrath."

"The rest of the two armies?"

"A signal came in an hour ago from our spies in the Ventilian Hills. The armies are force marching; a number of stragglers are already falling behind."

"And the Subata?"

"Just now reorganizing."

"It could have gone better, but I have no need for complaint," Sarnak said softly. "True, we could have hoped that the Torms would have destroyed Allic and his men. But the fact that Allic left his city almost defenseless is enough. You have done well with placing your spies, Kala. Your reward will reflect it."

The young sorcerer bowed low, keeping his features set so that his pleasure would not show you. "All to serve you, my lord."

"Nonsense," Sarnak said coldly. "We all serve to advance our personal desires. It is merely in my best interest to reward success, as I would punish you if you failed. So don't flatter me with your pious mumblings. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, my lord," Kala replied coolly, looking up to face his master. He breathed an inner sigh when he saw that Sarnak was not angry. With Ralnath detached to a secret command, Kala had found himself elevated to the post of controller of Sarnak's battle command center, with the offworlder as an advisor. He knew that this might be his chance to gain favor with his lord, as long as Mokaoto did not claim the credit when victory was won.

"Just a moment, my lord, something else is coming in," Kala said quietly.

He walked to the far corner of the room, responding to the quiet urging of a tiny paging crystal that rested in his ear. Curious, Sarnak followed him. The room's northern alcove was now taken over by the communications team. A table was covered with maps, sheaves of reports, and a series of communications crystals. Each crystal was worked by an apprentice who sat hunched over the glowing gems, receiving reports and forwarding orders back to the various commanders, sorcerers, and observation positions covering the various approaches to the city.

Sarnak gazed at this organizational masterpiece with pride. None of his rivals had such an organization. Mokaoto had suggested some of the changes, citing the system used back in the wars on his world. Now, there is where they truly understand how to organize fighting, Sarnak thought wistfully.

In the far corner of the alcove were half a dozen of his best sorcerers. Touching hands, they sat in a circle around a glowing blue crystal. Through their efforts they had so far been successful in blocking all communications into and out of the beleaguered city.

If only Jartan or Minar had not directly intervened, Allic would still be in the south. Still, Sarnak could use this to his advantage...

"My lord."

Sarnak looked up at Kala, who had returned from a hurried conference with his staff. "Go on."

"There's no mistaking it. Allic is less than half a turning away. Even now he's trying to break through to talk to Valdez."

"Very good," Sarnak said, a thin smile creasing his face. "Inform Verg and his demons that I want a full air assault on the southern approaches to the western town launched in a quarter turning. I want every one of them up. Verg will know what to do from there, he's been briefed."